Page 10 of Sacrifice
CHAPTER ONE
One Month Later…
Saga
"You're wearing the fuck-me dress," Elfe comments from my bedroom doorway, beer in hand. "Brandon must be doing something right."
"It's not a fuck-me dress," I protest, smoothing down the little black number that definitely screams fuck-me. "It's a nice dinner dress."
"Right. That's why your tits are having their own party up there."
I adjust the neckline, trying for more coverage. There isn't any. "Third date. I need to make up for the wedding disaster."
"You mean when Emil scared him off like a rabid guard dog?" Elfe flops on my bed, careful not to spill her beer. "That was epic. Tor's still talking about it."
"It wasn't epic. It was humiliating." I grab my heels, the ones that make my legs look amazing, and will definitely kill my feet. "Brandon deserves better after that mess."
"Brandon deserves a woman who's actually into him," Elfe counters. "Not one using him to prove a point."
"I'm not?—"
"You've checked your phone six times in the last ten minutes."
"I'm waiting for Brandon to confirm the time."
"Bullshit. You're checking if Emil called." She sits up, fixing me with that look that means she's about to get too honest. "Just fuck him again and get it over with."
"We never?—"
"Please. You came home from that wedding looking freshly fucked, and don't even try the 'I was just drunk' excuse. That man had you screaming his name in his truck."
Heat floods my face. "Once. One mistake."
"Try three times," Elfe corrects. "The Christmas party, New Year's Eve, and the wedding. That's a pattern, babe."
"Those don't count."
"Your vagina begs to differ."
"Elfe!"
"What? I'm just saying, the sexual tension between you two makes everyone uncomfortable. Last week at the club, you walked in, and Emil knocked over an entire row of bikes trying to follow you."
"That's not?—"
"And the week before at Bubba's, he nearly broke that guy’s hand for buying you a drink."
"The guy touched my ass. That was totally different."
"Everything's different when it comes to you two." She finishes her beer, studying me. "Why are you fighting this so hard?"
I sit on the bed beside her, careful of my dress. "You know why."
"Because he's intense?"
"Because he's everything," I admit. "Emil doesn't do anything halfway. It's all or nothing with him, and I can't... I'm not ready for that."
"So you're dating Brandon the accountant instead?"
